Quote:
Originally posted by RP Fade
Yup..no such thing as a suicide bomber or martyr before the Hezbollah and fundamentalist movements of the 70's, 80's and 90's. It all started with Khomeni in 79..
|
Well, actually this too, like Fletch says, has been going on for thousands of years. The term 'assassin' comes from the Hashishin, religious zealots sent on one way missions to eliminate political rivals. These guys date from around 7AD, strangely close to the time of Mohammed.
However once you realize that the whole region had been kept in check and virtual slavery by the Romans and the Byzantinnes for 1000 years prior to this, it's easier to understand how the people become easily influenced by this new 'savior'
Back then there was no real separation of church and state, as still seems to be the preference in the entire region today.